Babysitting
by Starsinger
Summary: Deneva Universe. Nyota and Spock decide to volunteer to babysit Marina, Penny, Peter, and Jo while Jim, Christine, Bones and Carol go out on a date. They need help. Don't own them.


**Babysitting**

by Starsinger

**Deneva Universe. Nyota and Spock decide to volunteer to babysit Marina, Penny, Peter, and Jo while Jim, Christine, Bones and Carol go out on a date. They need help. Don't own them.**

Jim was actually sitting on one of the biobeds in Sickbay when Spock entered. Two fingers were pressed against his nose and his eyes were closed. His blue medical shirt looked like a couple of someones had been very ill all over it and his pants. Geoffrey M'Benga sat beside him with an almost identical look on his face. "Bad day?" Spock finally asked.

Jim, startled, looked up. Spock finally saw the black eye Jim sported and Geoff's nose was obviously broken. "Denita Sumir, our Carrean crewmate, went into heat today. We attempted to give her a suppressant until her mate could be found. He's on the USS Antares and on his way here. We had to give her a sedative before we could give her the suppressant, and she got a little…passionate," Geoff explained.

"Passionate?" Spock asked, perplexed. "It looks more like she got a little violent."

"You've never seen a Carrean in heat," Jim muttered. "They make Klingons look tame. At least Klingons are reading poetry when…" Jim halted when Spock looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Never mind, I spent some time treating Klingons after Medical school while they were on leave in Iowa. Don't know why they were on leave in Iowa, but they were. Anyway, it all started when one of the Klingon men started reading Shakespeare at a local bar."

"That was a problem?" Spock asked.

"Not until one of the females started hurling bottles of whiskey at him," Jim said with a laugh. "Things kinda went downhill from there. Learned later that it was a Klingon mating ritual. Although, books are usually the objects hurled, not glass containers."

"And then Mrs. Stephens brought in a couple of Kindergartners who were sick," Geoff continued. "They were very sick, all over Jim, Christine, and a few others here in Sickbay. We're afraid it's a stomach bug going around. E coli and other bacterial causes have been ruled out, and I seriously doubt a couple of six year old humans are pregnant…"

"So, you are waiting on the results of a viral test," Spock continued. "You need to clean up," he told Jim. "The last thing you need is for Penny, Peter, or Marina to come down with it."

Jim sighed, "Yeah, well, the babysitter has. She had to cancel tonight. Chris and I were going to have some alone time tonight." Spock watched as Jim stripped off the blue shirt and sent it down to be cleaned. The black undershirt was soon covered by another blue shirt. "So, what brings you down here?"

"The USS Antares is here. They want to know what they should do," Spock returned.

"She's in there," Jim waved toward an isolation room. "Have them beam him directly in there. Not like it's an intership transport or anything."

Jim was not quite prepared for Spock's next words. "Jim, Nyota and I could take the kids for tonight. I've already volunteered to take Jo since Leonard is facing the same difficulty as you." Jim turned grateful eyes on his Vulcan friend.

"YOU DID **WHAT**?" Nyota asked Spock before he went to pick up the kids.

"I volunteered us to watch Penny, Peter, Marina and Jo tonight. It should not be too much trouble," Spock informed her. The thing was, Spock was technically right. Penny, Peter, and Jo were technically old enough to mind themselves, it was Marina who was still considered too young to be left alone.

Uhura sighed, pictures the bubble bath that she had spent months saving up her water rations for flew out the proverbial window. "Alright, we'll babysit tonight, but you're cooking," she told him. Spock forbore to mention that with the replicators, he didn't need to cook. They both changed into more comfortable clothes before heading down to Jim's quarters.

The CMO's quarters were in comfortable chaos. Toys of a six year old strewn across the room joined with the obvious items used for homework. Peter and Penny sat at the table doing said homework while Marina lay on the floor coloring. Jim smiled, "Jo will be over here in a few minutes. The kids have eaten. Feel free to help yourselves to whatever's in the fridge." Spock remembered that family quarters came with kitchens. Marina's bed time is at 1900, and Peter, Penny and Jo's is at 2100 hours. This is a school night, so don't let them talk you into staying up late. No television until all homework is done. Marina will need assistance with her bath before bed, but the others can do it themselves. Jo will probably sack out with Marina and Penny. We won't be home late, promise."

Uhura smiled, "Don't worry, they'll be fine." Spock's eyes widened fractionally as he saw something behind Jim. Jim turned to find Chris standing in the doorway to their bedroom wearing a blue and silver knee length dress, matching heels, with her hair up in a chignon. Uhura smiled, "Have a good time." Uhura watched with a tender smile as they walked out the door. Jim's arm wrapped around her slender waist while she leaned her head onto his shoulder. His own head tilted toward hers as it appeared they were talking.

A minute later the buzzer sounded and Spock opened the door to find Jo standing in the doorway. He moved aside and let her enter. She pulled off her pack and dropped into a chair next to Penny and settled down to finish her own homework. Spock peered out the door to find Carol and Leonard walking away from them in a similar manner as that of Chris and Jim. "They look good together," Spock mused.

"They really do," Uhura said behind him. She soon picked up her PADD and sat down on the couch to peruse the latest science publications. Spock joined her as he attempted to crack the ancient Caloan language. The species had died out millennia before humans or Vulcans even made it into space, but remnants of their civilization still existed on the dusty, Mars-like world that they once lived on. Their writing were literally carved into stone which had excited linguists and archaeologists alike when they had been discovered. Unfortunately, with no Caloans still alive to help them, they had a slow time in trying to understand their writings. Spock thought it was fascinating. They reminded him of the writings on Ancient Egyptian tombs.

Spock had been so entranced by the work that he never noticed Marina climbing into his lap until her voice piped up, "That looks like the sun."

Spock peered at the picture and nodded, she was right, "It does."

"What is it?" she asked.

"We believe it's the writing of an ancient civilization. One so ancient, it was long gone before we ever had a chance to get to it," Spock told her.

"Ancient? Daddy said that means really old? Like the dinosaurs?" Marina asked.

"Yes," Spock admitted lowering the PADD so Marina could see what he was looking at. "You know how the Egyptians carved their words into stone on their tombs?" Spock asked.

"The place where they were buried, pyramids?" Marina asked.

"Yes," Spock said with a nod, "this writing looks like that a bit. That writing is called 'hieroglyphs'. It's not used any longer, it's very cumbersome, but it opened a new view of the world when they were able to translate it, understand it," Spock told her.

Uhura had since moved. Peter had needed help with his science homework, and she was happy to oblige. She looked up and watched closely at the pair on the sofa with a nod, Spock would be a wonderful father, someday. Soon the kids were finished with their homework and all sat around the television watching it or reading a book or something on their PADDs. The first and only tantrum of the night came when Uhura escorted Marina off for her bath and bed. "I don't wanna go to bed! Peter and Penny don't have to go to bed!"

Uhura shook her head, "Yes, they do. It'll just be later. You can stay up later when you get older."

"Not fair! Wanna be older now!" Marina wailed as Uhura led her in for her bath. Twenty minutes later she was dressed in pajamas and came out to say good night.

Thirty minutes, and one trip to the kitchen later, Uhura finally returned. Spock raised an eyebrow. "Three bed time stories and a glass of water, Spock. That child is spoiled," Uhura said with a smirk.

It remained quiet. Peter, Penny and Jo soon rose for their own ablutions before retiring, without any fuss, to bed. Spock and Uhura enjoyed the quiet as everyone settled down. That was until a little voice cried out, "Miss Uhura! My tummy hurts!"

Remembering what transpired before Spock entered Sickbay that day he made a dash for the kitchen where he grabbed a bowl and barreled into Marina's bedroom. They reached the little girl just in time to have her vomiting into the bowl. Uhura felt her forehead. "Call Jim," she said quietly. "She's running a fever.

Spock pulled out his communicator moments before the door opened and Jim and Chris stepped in. They found them in Marina's room with Spock holding the bowl and Nyota rubbing circles on the little girl's back. "I had hoped we managed to escape this," Jim murmured. Uhura rose letting Jim take her place. "Geoff got the results back, it's a virus. Which, unfortunately, means we need to let it run its course. Science is in the process of whipping up an antiviral and a vaccination for it. Don't need the whole ship to get sick. Go on you two. Thank you. We'll return the favor someday."

Uhura smiled as she and Spock gathered up their stuff and headed out. "I had a wonderful evening," she told him. Spock gave her a curious look, "I was able to see how you would be as a father. Spock nodded. He emulated Jim's and Leonard's move as he wound an arm around her waist. She leaned into him, "Thank you," she whispered as they continued on to their quarters to finish their evening.


End file.
